A Change for the Better
by Thenightsdeath
Summary: Nelly a very shy girl gets stuck in middle earth with Gandalf who has taken on the task of helping dwarves. And is meddling in lives because he has made Nelly tag along. Things are changing and some of it could be for the worst or the better. Hope you enjoy. :)
1. Prologue

OK I think I finally know how i'm going to make this story work. Yay and i would love feed back please. tell me what i can do better and waht should be changed.

I do not own any of the characters they all belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. though Nelly is mine.

* * *

Nelly an unruly girl who liked to run a muck the flowers and grass when she was supposed to be in her studies was at the moment in one of the worst predicaments that she had ever been in. the fact that she was a 17 year old and had somehow gotten herself transported to another world and in some pretty sticky situations. But putting all of that aside she was in a sense having the best adventure of her life. Though there were many a time when she had thought it best to have listened to her parents and not gone into the woods behind her house to play. But what was done was done and the only thing left to do in this situation was to keep going forward no matter how much she wanted to wring some of their necks. But let us begin at the beginning shortly after she was found.


	2. At First

Tell me what you think please. And thank you in advance.

* * *

Chapter One

They had been traveling for quite some time. The only good thing was the fact that he was Gandalf and everyone knew who that was he was the famous wizard from Middle Earth. The one problem was that he wasn't supposed to be real. And she was hoping that this was going to one of those really screwy dreams. So far though it was all real, and at this point it wasn't bothering her too much.

The ride was bumpy and it seemed like the old wizard was purposely hitting every rock in the road. Because of it she felt like her insides were turning into jelly, a really soft jelly. But she was enjoying it, Gandalf liked to tell stories about the history of the lands that surrounded them. And to her she liked it because at that point anything was better than turning into jelly.

"And my dear nelly, I almost forgot to tell you that we are headed to the shire. Why though I think I will let you find out in time. But I do believe from what you have told me you will quite like what I have in store for you." He suddenly said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. From what she could remember he was clever when it came to getting things done his way. The best part though was when he made everything work even though it seemed like there was no possible way for something like what he would have done get done.

"Alright but why I thought you were taking me somewhere where there might be more information on my strange situation."

"All in due time my dear." And with that he went back to telling her about one of the wars with something to deal with orcs. She smiled and continued on with looking at the scenery she had zoned out and in doing that was able to focus more clearly on her surroundings. As they went by she saw a dear that was looking at them. She was staring at it when it suddenly bolted. She looked around to see what else she could see. There wasn't much except for lots and lots of trees that kept going on and on. And finally when she thought the ride would never end out of pure boredom, they were stopping.

"Come along now we have things that are to be done." So she followed and looked intently at the strange place she was at. She knew where it was they were in Hobbiton, but the funny thing was the fact that everything didn't look so small as it did in the movies. Then again she was quite short but still it was so, not small. It was fun to see the way everything worked. There was the little market where different thing were being sold. And the little children that ran this way and that with not a worry in the world. Then there were those that were herding animals through the streets. And the animals differed greatly from goats to ducks and geese to the bigger livestock. And every which way she looked there was something strange and new to what she had known at her home.

They followed a path that led from all the hustle and bustle of life here in the little corner of the world where the hobbits dwelled. As she was taking the rest of the little town in, she notice that all of the hobbits loved color. And she could see that from the way they dressed, their gardens, and their little circular doors that all seemed to be a different color from all the others. Having a life here looked nice. But from what she had heard the little hobbits didn't like adventure, which meant they would thing that she was a bit on the crazy side. And she probably was.

"Keep up miss Nelly we have things to do." Said an irritable Gandalf who you could tell was frustrated about something.

"Yes sir." And she ran a little to catch up. Nelly was amazed at how everything was so peaceful and serine. Life was not like this at home; at home one had to deal with all of the hustle and bustle of the city. There it was crazy while here she could get used to this, but she still preferred being by herself. She was just wondering where she was being taken. And she was mostly afraid of who she might have to deal with. It had taken her almost three days before she spoke to Gandalf and even now she only spoke if it was necessary and it had been close to a month since he had found her wondering aimlessly through the forests. Now granted it had only been for a few hours and she did know how to survive but, she was scared senseless.

They walked up a hill and it seemed to go on forever. When they finally got to the top she was not surprised to find that there was another house. It looked nice and very homely. A place that she for sure wouldn't mind visiting again with it colorful gardens and neatly trimmed hedges. Not to mention the happy little hobbit that was sitting smoking his pipe. And the contented look of how everything just somehow managed to fit together as one. In her opinion though the best part was sitting there mesmerized by the smoke rings that he continuously made until Gandalf interrupted with a quick clearing of his throat.

"Good morning." Said the little hobbit, as he nearly fell over.

The conversation continued for a few moments until Gandalf decided that he was going to introduce Nelly.

"Bilbo Baggins I would like to introduce Nelly. I happened upon here on one of my travels. Nelly this is Bilbo Baggins one of the most respected hobbits in the shire." She immediately tried to duck out of site so as to not be in the light that she had been thrust into. But Gandalf gently pushed her back to where Bilbo could see her.

"and I would like to ask that you please take her and give her some men's cloths that she can change into and a few sets will do." Nelly again tried to hide behind Gandalf but he prevented it and made it so that there was no way in which she could hide.

"yes, yes, yes ill help her but I will not be going on that adventure, and I do hope that you will leave me be if I help." He said with his ever so matter of fact and with a huff he stood up obviously upset at the fact that he may have just barely managed to escape an adventure.

They had spent an hour finding a few sets of cloths in which she could wear. She found that he would be easy to talk to. Though she had only said thank you and a simple yes or no. but he liked to tell stories and she found it entertaining.

They had finally gotten all the cloths packed and put away. She had gone into the living room and had sat down. Being as tired as she was she quickly fell asleep.

She woke to the door bell ringing. And wondered if Gandalf had come to finally come and retrieve her. She went to the door way to see that it wasn't Gandalf at all but instead a burly dwarf. That's when she remembered the conversation she and Gandalf had not too long ago about helping some dwarves back to their home land. And so she went back to where she had fallen asleep and hid from what was to come, silently waiting for Gandalf to return.

She didn't wait long till the doorbell rang again. She silently went and observed what was happening. Another dwarf had come in and was greeting the other dwarf that had been here previously. The first one she discovered was named Dwalin and the second one was named Balin who was the oldest brother to the first. While learning this she suddenly had the feeling that life was going to get very complicated very soon. And upon thinking this she watched them and to her horror they ended up head butting each other. Cringing she crept back to where she had been hiding yet again waiting for Gandalf to finally come and rescue her form her terror of all these new people that were here and were coming.

Again the doorbell rang and she again watched this time they were younger and were also brothers by the names Fili and Kili. But they were not who she was looking for so she retreated back to her spot. The next time the doorbell rang she didn't even bother getting up. Though she was pretty sure she heard Gandalf. She could hear the merry laughter as they sang and drank. And she sat there wondering what was going to happen since she had the sneaking suspicion that she would be somehow going with the dwarves. There was a sudden loud laughter that seemed to emanate through the entire house and then was followed by three quick but loud and sure knocks at the door. And the rest of the noise was gone.

She got up curious as to who would make the entire house so quiet. She could hear the small murmurs of the others as she peered around the side of the wall. Nervous about being found she stayed as quiet as possible. The new arrival was a dwarf. And in her opinion a very handsome dwarf, not that she would ever tell anyone.

While he was talking she didn't even notice when she crept out from behind the wall that separated her form everyone else. She didn't go very far though and still stayed back in that back of everyone. But she was caught very unaware by the fact that she wasn't hiding anymore. And the moment she thought everything was going to be fine she sneezed and everyone was suddenly looking at her. Though no one spoke.

"Nelly it's nice of you to finally join us I was starting to think you had run off. Who knew a human could be so quiet." Said and overly enthusiastic Gandalf. She looked at him and smiled a little bit but didn't say a word. And she felt like a deer that caught in the headlights. But she didn't cower at least not yet.

"And who is this? I was not aware that you would be inviting a woman, Gandalf." The newest arrival said looking at Gandalf, there was a moment of silence as they both looked at each other.

"Thorin I would like to introduce Nelly to you Nelly this is Thorin." Nelly looked at both of them and she could see a glint in Gandalf's eyes. This was going to get interesting. Looking at Thorin she could see that there was going to be an argument and suddenly she felt very small.

"She will not be coming with us. First because she is well she's a woman. And second she will not be able to defend herself." Upon hearing those words she glared at the dwarf. She did know how to defend herself, that's what happens when she had cousins not to mention the everyday jerks that quickly learned their lesson to not mess with her. She might be quiet and small and shy, but she did know that when angered she was considered a little demon when seen angry. And she did know that she put the fear of god into some people's souls a few times. Looking at him she was deciding how she was going to go about this, mostly because she didn't like it when she was stuck in these kinds of situations.

The rest of them just stood there some didn't know what to expect where this situation was going to go. Nelly shook her head and wondered if they were going to even get through tonight without killing each other.

"Can you protect yourself if need be? I have others to worry about without you also getting in the way."

"Hey hey hey, now I do believe that that is a step to far. Just because I'm a tiny little girl does not mean that I can't protect myself and for your information, I am not a burden since that seems to be what you're getting at." She stood there with a sudden fire that even threw Gandalf for a loop. He stood there slightly surprised that she spoke let alone with such confidence that he nearly had his jaw to the floor.

They looked at her and Thorin seemed as though he was satisfied so he turned and ignored her for the rest of the night. The dwarves were in the dining room while Nelly found a comfortable spot in the living room she had been instructed to go into by Gandalf. She listened to them as they spoke about the mountain, and some of the more political aspects of this journey that they were going to take. And when it got to the political stuff she zoned out and eventually fell asleep.

She woke a few hours later to the alluring singing that had seemed to appear around her, she slightly opened her eyes and looked around to see all the dwarves. And it was them that were singing and humming, with a quick smile of contentment she fell asleep again with the images that the dwarves brought to her through dream.

* * *

Hope you liked it.


	3. Something New

Chapter 2

When Nelly woke up she noticed the quiet and serine calm that had fallen over the hobbit hole. There was of course the occasional snore from one of the dwarves, but you must remember that they are dwarves. Looking around she saw that considering all of the noise that had been made the previous night it was still pretty clean. Which she could only laugh at how frustrated poor Bilbo had sounded the night before, and if her memory was still good when it came to this particular story then they were not the best when it came to manners.

Getting up she noticed that she had a kink in her neck which she knew was going to make life difficult for a few days. And to make things worse was that fact that she was pretty sure she knew what she was going to be up against when it came to the King under the mountain. Last night she could tell that he was not very pleased about the situation with her tagging along. Not that she cared much about what he thought she just didn't want to have to deal with his stubborn ways.

With a quick stretch she made her way ever so quietly to the front door. Having to step over three different dwarves and nearly falling on top of a fourth, she made her way to the round green door. Carefully she pulled it open only to see Gandalf on the other side.

"Good morning Gandalf." She said with her most daring of smiles, tempting him to say something by him using his riddling ways.

"Hmm and I would say good morning to you to but, I would tell you it's not easy having to deal with a stubborn dwarf king. Which reminds me I have a gift for you." And with that he pulled out a package from under his cloak. Holding it out to her she gingerly took it. Then with a questioning look opened the gift. There were two things in the package one was a dagger and the other one was a violin. Smiling she gave Gandalf a hug.

"Thank you he must have remembered her telling him about her talent for music. Not singing though she could never sing in front of people, not yet at least.

"You are quite welcome and may it keep even the darkest places happy enough to survive." Then without a smile continued on inside. Giggling to herself she went over to the bench and sat down looking at the violin she started tuning it, and it wasn't bad thank goodness. And so for about 30 minutes she played the violin.

It was only when the smell of food had made her stomach growl and so she decided to stop and go see what she could get ahold of. Sneaking back inside so as to not draw to much attention she round one of the corners and saw that there was food laid out everywhere. She was just about to turn around to wait till most had left when she was stopped.

"Nelly come and eat we will be leaving in a short while. You won't have time to go picking through what's left." And it was the unmistakable voice of Gandalf. Oh he was going to be the death of her she just knew it deep down. Putting on a fake smile she went in the dining room. Finding and apple she grabbed it then as quickly as she could leave. And to her dismay the moment she left the dining room she nearly ran into Thorin Oakenshield himself. Immediately her face was red with embarrassment. So she walked out as fast as she could. Those who had seen what had just transpired knew that things were going to get interesting. But how things were going to turn out no one knew they would just have to wait and see.

By the time they were all ready to leave to go on this adventure Nelly had been waiting for what seemed like ages and the kink in her neck was making her a bit more moody than normal. By the time they were actually on the road headed towards the lonely mountain Nelly was getting an aggravating head ache and she was pretty sure that someone was going to get it if they even so much as looked at her. However she let Gandalf convince her to go on this road trip she was unsure but she was going to make sure that he got a piece of her mind as well. That thought brought a brief smirk but her head denied any more amusement.

They went on like that for a few hours when they suddenly heard the yell of who could only be the mister Baggins himself.

"Wait, wait I've signed it." Huffed and puffed the little hobbit. He gave the contract to Balin the only dwarf besides their leader that she could remember he looked over the contract for a few seconds.

"Welcome master Baggins the company of Thorin Oakenshield." Looking around Nelly could see some of the dwarves smiling and that was due to the bet they had made earlier that morning about whether or not the hobbit would come. She wasn't surprised that he did. He was part took after all.

The rest of the day went by with no events that are worth mentioning and after dinner while everyone was settling down Nelly again pulled out her new violin and started plucking some of the random cords. It soon turned into one of her favorite songs a lullaby her mother used to sing to her before bed. It was a faint tune in which everyone had to strain their ears to hear.

"Lass why don't you make the tune a bit louder so we can all hear it." She stopped and looked up to see who had spoken. It had been Dwalin and even though she was a bit startled that they were listening to her but complied anyways. She was still too quiet for them to hear all the notes but she did play a bit louder. And pretty soon she had gotten enough courage to play loud enough for all of them to hear. When the song was over she didn't even look up to see the smiles on some of their faces. T them it had reminded them of home, a place that they were going to go and reclaim.

Putting the violin away she rolled over on her side finally being tired enough to try to sleep. And in doing that she missed the one pair of eyes that were staring at her.

* * *

Please, please, please review so i know what you like and don't like.


	4. Change

**Pretty please review and tell me what you like and don't like. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Waking up Nelly stretched for a few seconds before realizing she hated waking up so early after sleeping on the ground. Her head was hurting a little bit that morning to and she was hoping that maybe by a miracle it would stop soon. Eating a little bit of what was breakfast she then went to the far back of the group so that she could watch and finally decide what the rest of the dwarves were like. And right off the bat she knew that both Fili and Kili were going to be the trouble makers of all of them. She also felt that they would be good allies in tight situations. Balin, she then decided that well he was the fatherly type that she figured if she absolutely had to she could go to. Dwalin, she wasn't quite sure of but she was sure that if she was on his good side he would protect her with his life if need be.

There was then Bofur, Bombur, and of course Bifur. She knew that from the way they talked with one another they were like some of her cousins that she got along with quite well. Then there was Ori Dori and Nori she knew that it was going to be awhile till she figured them out but Ori was a bit on the shy side. And then there was Oin and Gloin. With them she figured that they would be good friends if she allowed such a thing to happen. And last but not least there was Thorin. With him she didn't know how to even begin to understand what he was like. He had spoken to her only once or twice now and in the end she had gotten mad at him for hinting at the fact she might, might be a burden. So she figured that it was going to interesting until they found the same ground.

Wondering how much this was going to change her life she didn't realize that one of the dwarves had spoken to her.

"Lass, lass are you even listening. I had asked you what that song was that you were playing last night."

"oh that was just a song from when I was little," she looked down as she noticed everyone was looking at her, "it's a lullaby I don't remember the name of it though." she looked up just a little bit to see that there was no one looking at her though it didn't help since she really was finding it hard to even talk to them. And a million thoughts were racing through her head as she rode quietly behind. She didn't talk at all the rest of the day. And when they had all settled down for the night she didn't pull out her violin, much to the disappointment of all of the dwarves.

By the time all of them had fallen asleep (save for Thorin who was on watch duty) she realized that it was going to be a long night. She just couldn't sleep and she was starting to be really homesick. She sat up and looked around not only was it still strange being so far from home but, it was getting cold. And the blanket wasn't doing much to keep her warm. Curse the storm that was coming in especially since she was always cold as it was.

Thorin who had been watching her from his spot on the other side of camp notice that she had started shivering. She was strange that much he knew but in a way he felt that she would be a good friend if only she wasn't so shy, then maybe, no that was wishful thinking. Wasn't it? He had then gotten up to go and give his jacket to her. He didn't need the girl getting ill because she wasn't warm.

Oh how nelly wished that she would have listened to her parents when they had told her to stop going in the woods behind their house. Now here she was stuck in a world that was supposed to be imaginary. The only thing going for her was this was her favorite story. But she couldn't remember any of it, but she knew that at one point she knew.

It had seemed to have gotten colder. And she wasn't feeling well now either. Something was happening and whatever it was she didn't like it. Nelly had tried to lie down to try and sleep but couldn't. That's when she felt something being placed on her. And immediately felt a little bit better. But not by much her head was hurting again.

"Are you alright?" the question startled her but from who the question had come from startled her even more. It was Thorin someone she had not expected to even think, about helping her. But here he was.

"Yeah I'm fine," and at that moment was that she started to have a little coughing fit.

"Get up." Nelly looked up at him startled by the sudden command.

"What."

"Get up; I'm moving you a bit closer to the fire so you'll be a bit warmer. That and I'll be able to keep an eye on you in case you start to get worse." Nelly carefully got up and allowed him to move all her stuff closer. By the time she was wrapped up in the jacket and blanket she was finally exhausted. Almost the moment she laid down she fell asleep.

He watched her for a little longer till it was time to wake Balin for the next watch. And he fell asleep wondering why he was helping the girl. He needed to focus on his task at hand and not let anything else distract him right? At this point he wasn't too sure why he felt like this, something was wrong but he didn't know what, not yet anyways.

When they had all gotten up Nelly was feeling fine but she was still unsure of what had transpired last night. It was just too weird. So she opted to not think about it. They had their breakfast listened to some of the griping about how early it was got all of her stuff packed and soon they were off. Though it was going to be one of those days, and one of those days it was. Not only did it start raining but everyone was in a foul mood. Except Gandalf of course, he found joy in everything it seemed.

By the time they found a place to stay for the night everything they had with them was soaked. The only thing that had seemed to be saved was the violin. After dinner the rain had stopped and the clouds had dispersed no one got much of any sleep. And what little sleep they got didn't help.

By the next morning no one really ate anything and they were on the road earlier than normal. The day went by as if it were mud on a sunny day going uphill. More like up a steep cliff. By the time they all settled down for the night everyone was in a mood and snapping at each other. Shaking her head she went to find a good spot so she could just sit. Pulling out her violin she started playing the random songs she had learned from (twinkle, twinkle little star) to her favorite lullabies. She spent a good long while playing the songs before she grew too tired to even think strait. That night everyone was able to sleep quite well. Thank the high heavens because if they hadn't well everyone would be at each other's throats. And again Nelly didn't notice the person who was continuously watching her.

* * *

**Review Review Review. Wow I'm really nagging. Review so I can stop Nagging. :)**


	5. Beginnings of a Storm

**Read and Review Enjoy... Um Hope you like Ect. Ect. Ect.**

* * *

Chapter 4

The next morning when they had all finally woken up and had gotten ready to go they all felt the sudden tension in the air. From what though they didn't know, and poor Nelly was running a fever. And every moment seemed to get worse for her to the point where they had to stop just a little after lunch because she couldn't go on. And she had started coughing up a fit. The only good thing was the rest had a little time to plan how they were going to take back Erebor.

Nelly who couldn't get to sleep had started to shiver so violently that Gandalf was worried for her life, especially since it was only getting worse.

"Thorin I think that we should take her to Rivendale. She has only gotten worse since we stopped."

"No I will not have any of my men or the girl step foot there. Oin can make sure that she is alright he knows what he is doing." Gandalf only looked at him for a few short seconds before he shook his head.

"That's not the only reason you need to go there Lord Elrond can help us with the map. Plus I don't doubt Oin but the girl is not even from here, who knows how long this illness will last." With one look Gandalf knew that Thorin was in no mood to listen and that his dwarven pride was going to get in the way. Gandalf had then turned on his heel and had walked away. He would try again in a little while to see if the dwarf king would listen then, though there was little hope to be had on that subject.

A few hours later Nelly had finally fallen asleep. The only problem was the fact that she was still getting worse. And poor Oin had done everything that he could but nothing was helping. More or less they were just playing the waiting game. And still they were getting worried when the fever wouldn't break.

Darkness was beginning to fall when Fili and Kili had come running into the clearing saying that Bilbo had been captured by trolls. The only problem was Nelly what to do with her. She was still very ill and hadn't woken up since she had fallen asleep. Thorin decided that their plan would be to go in get Bilbo and get out. That had been the plan.

While the dwarves had gone to fight the trolls Gandalf had come back shortly after and had been wondering where everyone had disappeared to when he saw Nelly. She still didn't look any better and the shivering seemed to have gotten even worse since he had been away. Then he saw the foot prints in the ground. He had started to follow them when he turned around to see Nelly had woken up.

"Nelly dear do you think you can walk?" she just stared at him before she started to cough. She didn't even answer she was still so tired. He walked over and picked her up, there was no way he could leave her there defenseless in the state that she was in. there was just no way. He made his way carefully through the brush while carrying a Nelly. When he thought she would be close enough that he put her down to go save the dwarves lives.

Nelly watched she was close enough that she could see the dwarves and see Bilbo who was talking to something. Her mind was too far gone that she didn't understand what the behemoths were. Her mind was to foggy to even understand what was being said around her anymore. And just after the trolls had turned to stone she fell asleep again.

The next thing she remembered was a strange falling sensation followed by what sounded like a horn being blown in the distance. And she could hear the mumbling of the dwarves. But her mind was to far gone to interpret what was being said. Though she noticed the sudden tension, and thinking about it made her head hurt. She didn't even bother opening her eyes when she felt someone picking her up. Life at this point sucked and she just wished she would wake up and be in her home where her parents would scold her, and then tell her to never do that again.

Thorin who had been the one to drag her all the way to where they were right now had lagged to the back of the group hoping that Gandalf wouldn't lead them to Rivendale though he knew that that would be in vain. Looking down he could that Nelly had slightly stopped shivering which was good and she seemed to have h=gotten a bit more color in her face again which he was quite glad for. Looking up he stopped himself, he couldn't think like that he had a quest to worry about not the welfare of some girl who had shown up with Gandalf. No he wouldn't think like that ever.

Looking down at her face he decided she reminded him of a friend that he had once had. When he was young and was innocent to the ways of the world. It had been years since he had thought of that girl, maybe finally he could finally move on. Maybe there was a reason Gandalf had brought this girl with. Some lesson that would be taught, maybe.

Nelly woke up when she was suddenly being jostled around and could hear the distinct words of "weapons at the ready," she didn't mind much of that but she was asleep and didn't want to be disturbed no matter how much it might be necessary to the others. At this point her fever had broken and she could have been in a much better mood but they woke her up way too early to her liking. That's when she had somehow managed to stand on her feet. Looking around she saw that she was in a beautiful city though she couldn't quite place exactly where they were.

Looking around she saw elves. And that's when she realized that they were in Rivendale. Gandalf had told her about it. The problem was at that precise moment her world started to spin, luckily Thorin had caught her. Though the way he was treating her didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the company, in fact they were starting to wonder where this Thorin had come from. It was a nice change, but they wondered how long that was going to last.

"We have a bit of a problem Nelly the little lass seems to have caught something on our way this way. And she has been quite ill since early yesterday morning. The dwarves have done everything possible to help her but nothing has worked." Gandalf said looking at Nelly, she had lost consciousness again and was again back in Thorin's arms. Not that the dwarf minded he was kind of enjoying being this close to her, he just wished she wasn't so ill, then it could be even more enjoyable. He stopped that thought and scolded himself for he had told himself to focus and not on the girl. He just couldn't win.

"Bring her this way I can help her." Lord Elrond looked at the dwarf and he followed close behind. Even though Thorin had put on his no emotion face deep down he was trying to figure out everything that had just happened. Why did he feel this way? He just didn't get it. And it was making him frustrated. But in a way it made him excited. It was new something he had never dealt with before.

They walked into an infirmary and Nelly was placed on a bed in a room all to herself. Thorin stayed the entire time waiting to see what would happen hoping that by some miracle she would just wake up and everything would be ok. There was nothing left to do though so he left. He the mighty dwarf king needed time to think. They just had to wait and see know, but so did he with his mind racing with thoughts of only her.

* * *

**Please review tell me what you liked and didn't like.**


	6. Just A Smile

**Pleas read and review. And I Hope you enjoy. Also I own Nelly.**

* * *

Three days had gone by and Nelly couldn't remember much of any of it. Thorin had been in one of those moods that make everyone take a step back from what they are doing to try and stay away. And there was that everlasting fear of something could go wrong. When there was news that Nelly was yet again coherent all of the dwarves and Bilbo plus Gandalf all felt the stress of the situation lifted off their shoulders. Nelly was different as well somehow in the mix she had finally warmed up to the rest of the company, she was finally talking. It wasn't much but she was talking.

Out of everyone though Thorin was the one who had found the most relief, he wouldn't admit it but he was happy she was ok. He refused to visit her though; he kept his distance from her and everyone else. He was still thinking about everything that had happened. And at this point didn't know how to even begin to cope with what was going through his mind. If only she hadn't come along on this trip everything would be ok and he wouldn't have to even think about her. She would be nothing more than another person, who was only there and he didn't have to deal with.

Nelly talked a little more and laughed a little more, but she was still really shy and in fact there were certain things that she refused to talk about, that was mostly her family though. And all of the dwarves favorite part about her was when she would play the violin. And while they were there even the elves were found to be watching her when she played the violin. She was unique to all of them, a mystery that none of them could figure out. There was something more though what it was was so far beyond them that it would take years to figure out. The thing was not even she knew about it, not yet anyways.

The day for their departure had finally come. They were to leave early in the morning before most of the elves would have to wake up. Nelly was in the room that lord Elrond had given to her to use, packing up the few things she had with her. And a new pair of boots that lord Elrond had given to her. They were by far her most favorite pair of shoes and yes that a girly thing to say, so what.

They had all gathered together under the cover of darkness, waiting for their orders to leave. Nelly had sat down near the wall and had just started to doze off when Thorin came. They started walking to put as much distance between themselves and Rivendale before the sun rose. And when it did Nelly along with Bilbo both glanced back to see a last glimpse of it, before they were truly on their way. Nelly found it difficult to walk away since she had, had this feeling of dread since she woke up but what it was she did not want to find out. And again she only wanted to go home.

"Lass you've been quiet since we left everything okay?" Nelly looked up to see Bofur smiling at her. She took a moment to say anything though; she did have a lot on her mind since she had been told Thorin hadn't left her side when she had been unconscious. And was at that moment thinking about it. She looked at him again though. Smiling she just nodded her head. Bofur didn't look so sure but played it off. She stayed close to the back of the group as she normally would, thinking. But she was interrupted by Kili.

"Could you tell us a story? I mean one that you absolutely love."

"I well, I guess I could but what kind of story would you like I know lots of them." As she finished speaking she nearly fell. And when she looked up she was glaring at Kili, and he was the one that had distracted her.

"One of the stories that you are most fond of." He then looked back expectantly, with eyes full of hope.

"Ok I'll tell you one of our old children's tales. It's called the ugly duckling."

"Why a children's tale what do you think we are lass?" it was Dwalin who had asked the question.

"Shush. If you dint want to hear it don't listen." And with that she continued, "There was once a universe, it was a grand thing. Full of stars and worlds so far beyond our reach that one would have to imagine what could be out there. But it wasn't this universe on which we speak of that our story exists. In this universe there was a galaxy and in it there was a solar system. The solar system had a sun and eight planets around it. But the tale in which I speak of is on the world fourth from the sun. And on it, it is full of humans and other creatures. There though a place like this is only of imaginary images. There, there was a land and on this land there was a pond.

The pond had ducks, geese, and chickens with the occasional visitor form other birds. By the pond there was long grass that would sway in the gentle breeze and the new spring sun warmed the land. By the pond where the water would lap at the shore and the little goslings and ducklings would play. In the thicker grass there were remnants of where the little creatures had come from. And there were nests that still held that gift of life. And in one such nest where there were five eggs that held new life, the sun shone bathing the eggs with its warmth. The eggs had a golden color to them.

At about that time four of the five had started to hatch. And when they were done there were four little ducklings. And they laughed and played with the others while their parents kept a watchful eye over them. Finally it came time for the fifth little duckling. And when he hatched he looked nothing like the others. He was a dull gray and his neck was too long. Because he was different the other ducklings teased him. And he was no gosling his beak was too different. It did not bother him, at least not at first.

They teased him to the breaking point, till finally he had, had enough. And because of their poor treatment, he ran away. He walked for miles, but on one of the sunnier days looking up he saw the most beautiful creature flying. It flew away but it gave him the courage to fly away. And so with many hours of trying and failing he had taught himself, and he flew on.

It was getting colder, so he started searching for a home, a place he could call his own. He found a nice pond, it was lovely and he could swim as much as he wanted, there was enough room that if other birds came along he could go to the other side.

He stayed there for four years. Through the colorful falls to the cold winters, then there were the springs that always beckoned new life to the summers that meant swimming lazily around to cool off. On the fourth autumn while he was looking at the leaves that fell another had come along.

In his mind she was absolutely beautiful. He knew what she was she was a swan. And she glided effortlessly across the water. At that point she noticed him and had swum over to chat. While she was talking he didn't even listen. He was amazed that she would talk to him. He had grown up as the ugly duckling and no one had ever wanted to talk to him before. He suddenly interrupted her and asked why she didn't call him ugly or anything along those lines. She looked at him and laughed but told him that he was the most handsome thing that she had ever seen.

He still didn't get it. But something in the water had caught his eye and in the moment he had looked down he had finally understood. Their reflections were identical. The only difference was the fact that she was a little more feminine. He had never been a duckling he had been a swan. From that day forward they traveled everywhere together. And he had become the happiest ugly duckling there ever was." She stopped there with a smile.

The story wasn't long but it had been entertaining to them all even Dwalin. They had stopped for the night and had found a little place to hide from the rest of the world till the next day where they would be going through the Misty Mountains. Nelly had sat down near the edge of the camp to think about what she had been though during the past few days. Closing her eyes she didn't see the figure that had approached her.

As he sat down next to her she opened her eyes and looked at him. She jumped a little when she realized that it was Thorin who had coma and sat down next her. He didn't move didn't say anything, in fact she didn't even know if he knew she was there. And his face was as emotionless as always. So she turned and rested her head against the rock behind her and closed her eyes again. And neither of them moved or talked for the longest time. And when they acknowledged each other it was Thorin who spoke.

"The story you told us why is it important to you?" At the sudden comment Nelly jumped.

"My dad used to tell it to me like that. He used to, to call it our story."

"Where are you from?" the sudden question left her silent she didn't know how to tell him, she wasn't even sure if this was all happening.

"Umm. I, I don't know if I can tell you that."

"Can you try?"

"I, are all of you dwarves this strait forward." He turned and looked at her and at that moment she had to just laugh and oh it was good to just laugh.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll see if I can kind of explain."

"Really, and what did you find so amusing?"

"You know I really don't know. I guess that there has been so much tension that well, it's strange that here I am in the middle of now where, oh and don't forget Gandalf ditched me. That I kind of just needed to laugh, and you can't tell me that that has never happened to you before." They both sat there for a few moments, both thinking about what she had just said. Suddenly Thorin smiled and looked at her.

"Your right and I must say that it has been a long time since I have just been able to laugh." Nelly who had looked at him as he spoke this saw a sudden change in him. Not only the obvious smile, but there was a merry twinkle in his eyes. Now granted it wasn't laughing but it was pretty close and she could tell.

"Well it's good to know that you can at least smile I was beginning to think that you couldn't do that."

"Really is that so."

"Yes Mister Thorin Oakenshield that is the truth." She looked over and saw that he was looking down at his hands. Then to her amazement he started laughing it wasn't very loud but enough that some of the dwarves looked over. And she knew she was going to be cornered by both Fili and Kili in the morning. With a smile that was truly care free and happy he looked over.

"Hmm, I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest." And with that he got up and walked back over to the rest of the dwarves. Thinking that was weird she had gotten comfortable and soon fell asleep. Little did she know that would be the most sleep she would be getting in a long while.

* * *

**Read and Review pleas hope you liked it.**


End file.
